Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age

The Worst Kind of Biography

User Review - Nigel Tomes - Christianbook.com

Witness Lee's biography of Watchman Nee is the worst kind of biography. Why? There are a number of compelling reasons: [1] The biography is short on facts; it does not give an overall narrative of ...Read full review

Witness Lee's biography of Watchman Nee is the worst kind of biography. Why? There are a number of compelling reasons:[1] The biography is short on facts; it does not give an overall narrative of Watchman Nee's life. People have to look elsewhere to get that--e.g. Angus Kinnear's "Against the Tide."[2] This biography presents Watchman Nee as a perfect man. According to this writer Watchman Nee never made a mistake. He was misunderstood, falsely accused, defamed, etc. The writer never admits that there was justification for any accusation or criticism of Watchman Nee, not even a little! All the fault, 100% of the blame, is assigned to the accusers or critics! Thus Watchman Nee is presented as a perfect man, someone who served God without ever making a mistake or miss-judgment. What's the problem? Watchman Nee is too perfect! Hence the book's portrait of W. Nee must be biased. Every Christian knows that only Jesus Christ is without sin; only He never made any mistakes![3] It is impossible to separate the views & teachings of the author--Witness Lee and his subject--Watchman Nee! This reader was always left asking--is that view or teaching really Watchman Nee's teaching or is that Witness Lee's own teaching attributed to Watchman Nee? Is this biography really presenting Watchman Nee or is it (in fact presenting) Witness Lee's own views clothed in the garb of Watchman Nee? It's well known that Witness Lee often appealed to his mentor, Watchman Nee to justify his own views. Even in his final years (W. Lee passed away in 1997) W. Lee proclaimed, "I don't consider this to be my ministry, but I consider it to be Watchman Nee's ministry" (or words to that effect). In fact (despite his assertions to the contrary) Witness Lee's own teachings and practices diverged significantly from those of Watchman Nee. Given this obscuring factor it's hard to recommend this biography.--Nigel Tomes (Toronto, CANADA)

About the author (1991)

Lee, at the age of 19, began preaching. Early in his service, he met Watchman Nee and began to labor together with him. In 1949 he was sent by Watchman Nee to Taiwan. In 1962 he came to the United States and began to minister here. He ministered in weekly meetings and in weekend conferences, delivering several thousand spoken messages until 1997. He gave his last public conference in February 1997 at the age of 91.